Yesterday
by cloverish
Summary: Set αfter α slightly chαnged seαson four. Four yeαrs lαter, Nαthαn hαs to deαl with the choices he mαde αnd the pαth he chose to follow, wαtching from sidelong αs his children αre being rαised by Hαley… αnd αnother mαn.
1. Yesterday

_So, this is one of my stories I've been dying to post. I hope you guys enjoy it, I grew quite fond of it during the period I caught myself writing it or thinking about it._

_I'd like to thank Tamanna (I just realized I misspelled your name in one of my e-mails, I'm so sorry! I was quite sleepy ) aka __-RockStar-LoVe-23-for doing a wonderful job being my friendly beta!_

_I'd, also, like to thank everyone who offered themselves for the BETA job,__ especially Chris-Crips, and pam211. I contacted most of you, but when I needed this chapter done I had no replied, so I sent them over to Tamanna who was such a darling for keeping in touch, and reading over the story. And I want to apologize because I didn't contact some of you. I thought I had what I needed in hands, but now looking through, I don't think I do, so you might end up receiving and e-mail from lovely Laurie concerning a story or something._

_Now I'll let you go to the story. Happy reading._

_**Disclaimer:**__ I own nothing, but I seriously wish I owned __**everyone**__ in this chapter. Specially Elvis._

_**Summary:**__ Set after a slightly changed season four. Four years later, Nathan has to deal with the choices he made and the path he chose to follow, watching from sidelong as his children are being raised by Haley… and another man._

_**Yesterday**_ all my troubles seemed so far away.  
Now it looks as though they're here to stay,  
Oh, I believe in _yesterday  
_Suddenly, I'm not half the man I used to be  
There's a shadow hanging over me,  
Oh, _yesterday_ came suddenly  
Why she had to go  
I don't know she wouldn't say  
I said something wrong now I long  
For _yesterday_.  
_(Yesterday - The Beatles)_

**Chapter one.**

Nathan Scott sat on a large blanket, plaited in red and white, a small basketball in his hands. His eyes darted not far away, where two little kids were playing, by the lake.

His glance set on a little blonde girl with light brown eyes, her hair set in tiny pigtails with green ribbons, a couple of curls falling and framing her face ever so gently.

"Ducky, ducky!" she ran towards the ducks with the intention of feeding them, but to her surprise, they flew away as she threw small pieces of stone-hard bread at them, rather than to them. She blew at her fringe to get it out of her face and stomped her little foot, clad in lilac sneakers and light green socks. "Come back, ducky!" The tiny girl, dressed in a white and green tee with a purple overall, crossed her arms over her chest, leaving whatever was left of the bread to fall to the ground as she pouted her bottom lip in a cute way.

Nathan smiled at the girl's manners and glanced towards the other kid. A little boy, this time. He also wore an overall; his were dark blue, matching the little girl's. He had raven black hair and dark, sparkling blue eyes. He ran on the lake's shore with a golden Shepherd, twice his size.

"Slow down, Elwis!" He held the leash in his hands as tights as he could, but the dog was nearly dragging him off his feet. Elvis jumped towards the little girl, making her fall down onto the grass as he licked her rosy cheeks.

"Ew! Stop, Elwis! Stop!" She giggled, struggling to get the Shepherd off of her.

Nathan got up from the blanket, once he saw the dog advancing towards the little girl. He caught the leash with one of his hands and helped the little boy in controlling the animal.

"Thanks, daddy!" The little boy smiled a toothy grin, letting go of the leash so his father was in charge of Elvis.

"Yes, Thankies daddy." The little girl got up and smiled sweetly at him.

"Not a problem, princess." He smiled back at his 4-year-old daughter and patted her twin brother's hair. "I think it's time to go back home now. Your mother is waiting for you."

"We don't want to! Adam's gonna be there, we don't like him." The little boy was almost out of breath at the end of his sentence. Nathan bent down on one knee, so his eye level was the same as his kids'.

"I know you don't, Mikey, but mommy likes him. And you should try liking him too." Nathan stroked Michael's cheeks.

"But he says no to cookies." Nathan's attention turned to his daughter as she pouted again, looking down at her shoes.

"That's probably because you ask for them before dinner. No cookies before dinner, Ella, you know that."

"No! I Wanna stay with daddy!" Ella's little chin started quivering and tears formed in her dark eyes. She bit her bottom lip, just like her mother always did, and engulfed her father in a hug.

"Aw, baby. Don't cry, it's okay." He stroked his daughter's back with his free as she laid her small head on his shoulder.

"Come bawck to us, daddy." Ella sobbed, clinging tightly to his shirt. Just like Haley would do when she was scared.

With his heart broken in pieces, Nathan got up, lifting his tiny daughter with him, almost effortlessly. The tears had ceased, but two little hearts were still soaring. And a big heart too.

Nathan sighed, walking his children and Elvis back to the blanket where they had had a picnic, to clean things up and head back home.

It was Sunday. Nathan had the kids on every other weekend, from Friday night until Sunday before dinner. Before, whenever he was in town, Haley welcomed him to see the children, whether it was to see Ella play her little piano, or play basketball with Mike. But ever since Adam came along, the mid week visiting ceased. Nathan knew the reason they had this arrangement was his fault. But he couldn't help feeling hurt when she told him 'no' for the first time, eight months ago.

Haley had only just started dating Adam, and he was a good guy, he could see, but totally overprotective of Haley. But not in the same way he was, or used to be. Not too mention a little too much possessive over her, not in a good way, and most of all, he didn't like having the children with their father, once Haley made a mistake to tell him what happened between her and twins' father.

Now Nathan had to deal with being away from his kids much more than he would've ever wanted. But it was his choice, his mistake, and he was bound to remember that forever.

Haley had gotten pregnant half way through their senior year; the married couple had been struggling to pay the rent of their small apartment when they found out that they were, in fact, going to have two babies instead of one. The first feeling was fear. Haley juggled her waitress job at Karen's café and tutoring sessions, while her ever growing waistline seemed to suck all energy out of her. Nathan had basketball and worked crazy hours with different stuff, just to try to get some extra money at the end of the month. By the time the twins arrived, they were both utterly exhausted and no longer had time for each other.

When Michael and Ella turned six months, Nathan received an offer, he was to close his college registration and go off directly to NBA. But accepting that offer meant leaving Haley, Mikey and Ella behind most of the time. He spent long nights at the basketball court, pondering what was best for them. If he stayed, he'd have to struggle with college and basketball and more jobs than he could count of his fingers, as for leaving meant giving the three people he cared the most about a better life.

After giving much thought into it he decided to let go of college and join a professional team, seeing less and less of his family every month… until he and Haley started drifting apart… and it was no longer only physically, but emotionally too. Their love was still there, and they could feel it, but that passion that once burned seemed to be frozen in time, and unless they dig it in with want and need it would stay frozen until something else took its place.

The word _divorce_ was never spoken, both of them had a set of papers ready, but none had the heart to actually sign it off. They never spoke about seeing anyone else, but with time it only seemed right to let go of what they didn't have anymore. It took Haley a lot longer to start dating again as it did for Nathan, the first guy she had been with since Nathan was Adam. Haley felt she had to really be able to trust someone before letting them in. And with Adam it was all made of baby steps. She couldn't let anyone hurt her again like Nathan did. Sure, he was still he friend, sort of… but he had hurt her beyond imaginable by leaving. Deep down she knew she actually forgiven him, but she was sure it was something she was never going to be able to forget.

Nathan and Haley never went on court either, to decide whoever would have full custody of the children; it only seemed right that they stayed with their mother as Nathan traveled the whole country for his games. He was, at first, allowed to see the twins whenever, but those were mostly every other weekend, because of his busy schedule. So they set the arrangement, Nathan was to take the twins every other weekend, from Friday after dinner to Sunday before dinner.

"Hi mommy!" Michael shouted as they reached the living room to Haley's giant house.

"Hi, baby!" the little boy ran as fast as he little legs would let him, dumping his bag on the floor and flinging his arms around his mother's neck as she bent down to pick him up. "I missed you, little man." She kissed his forehead noisily, hugging him tight then setting him down.

Nathan walked in holding a sleeping Ella in his arms.

"Hey." She smiled at them as Nathan bent down and softly kissed her cheek.

"Hey to you too." He shifted the little girl in his arms and stroked her back soothingly as her head laid on his shoulder. "She fell asleep on the car ride." He let Haley know as she nodded, patting a calm Elvis who had settled himself by the couch and picking up the bag her son had discarded before skipping towards the big kitchens, in hope to guess what they had for dinner.

"Set her down on the couch will you?" She placed Michael's bag on the table. "Dinner's almost ready, would you like to stay?" She looked at him as he gently set Ella on the comfy couch.

"I don't know if that's a good idea, I mean Adam-"

"Is out of town, and it's not like he lives here. Plus, it'd mean a lot to the kids, I mean, you're leaving again tomorrow, aren't you?" Haley didn't look up, taking Ella's bag from her hands when Nathan set the little girl down, her mouth gapping open slightly and gentle snores came from it.

"Yeah, I leave tomorrow. Two more games and then the season's off. If we win that is." Haley nodded as Nathan fiddled with his hands. "If we do win it, the final game is home..." He glances up hopefully and she knew what it meant.

"Of course you'll win; the team has the best player on the shooting guard." She smiled gently at him and patted his shoulder proudly.

"Mommy! Are we having chicken?" Michael shouted, running past the kitchen door towards the living room.

"Your sister's asleep Mikey, lower your voice." She warned him gently and the little boy placed his index finger on his lips and made a sushing sound.

"Mommy, are we having chicken?" Michael whispered. Nathan laughed and Haley sighed. Not only was Michael the spitting image of his father, but they shared the same personality as well. As Ella had Haley's, she was really smart for a four year old and Haley had caught the little one slipping through the house's library door and reaching books that she wasn't supposed to read until she was fifteen, then she'd usually come up with weird question about meaning of words, which totally shocked the mother. At this age you would generally expect kids to ask where babies come from, but with Ella it was more of 'What does _haphazardly_ mean?"

"Yes, Mikey. We're having chicken bits for dinner."

"Yay!" he skipped happily towards the kitchen once again.

"Please tell me you didn't give him ice cream." Haley pleaded, leading the way to the kitchen. Nathan looked guilty for a second.

"No…" Nathan started and Haley gave him the evil eye. "Just chocolate." He admited silently.

"Nathan!"

"And maybe a lollypop." He added in a rush. "But, hey, it was a long time ago, after lunch." Haley crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot on the tiled floor. "Maybe around five… ish."

"Nathan Scott! You know how he gets if he eats too much sugar this late during the day! Now the kid will never sleep!"

"Sorry, but I never get to see the twins, it's only fair I get to spoil them when I do!"

"Hey, it's not my fault you can't see the children on a daily basis!" She started off but stopped as the expression in his face twisted from protest to hurt. "Sorry, I didn't… maybe we shouldn't talk about it right now." Nathan nodded simply, almost grateful.

The clock on the oven went off and Haley made her way towards it, Michael in tow. She put on special mittens and opened the oven, Michael was about to touch the burning tray when Haley instinctively set a hand on his face pushing him aside. The little boy laughed.

"Can we do that again?" He asked happily, his mother faked an angry scowl and shook her head.

"After dinner. Go get your sister, Mike." The boy nodded and was about to start running again "No hair pulling this time!" she warned, pointing a spoon she had been holding towards her son. He giggled and nodded, heading to the living room.

Haley placed the tray on the set table at the dining room, along with an extra dish for Nathan, she sighed, sitting down on her usual spot.

"You're too good with them." Nathan stated.

"I have no other choice but to be good with them. I can't afford to screw this up." She smiled slightly and the door to the dinning room soon opened again, revealing a hyper Michael pushing a sleepy Ella into the room.

"Momma." The little girl's eyes lit up as she made her way to her mother and outstretched her little arms, wanting to be held. Haley lifted her young daughter onto her lap as held her tightly, breathing in her baby scent.

"Did you have fun with daddy and Elvis?" Ella giggled, her thumb safely tucked inside her mouth, "Elwis licked me all over the face." She gave her mother a toothy grin and Haley laughed. "And I fed the duckies." She smiled, proud of herself. Haley giggled along with her daughter as Ella played with her mother's honey blonde hair, which matched her own.

"Nah ah, none of that, you'll fall asleep again, ladybug. Let's eat and then later you can play with mommy's hair." Haley set Ella down, and Nathan helped her climb her chair as Haley helped Mikey.

Nathan smiled at Haley as he placed a couple of chicken bits on Ella's pink plastic plate with Belle's figurine.

At moments like these they felt like a family. But Nathan wondered if they'd ever be one again.


	2. All my Troubles

_Okay, so this chapter has been sitting on my computer for more than three weeks, and I was wishing to change it slightly since I'm not really happy with some things in it. But I didn't have the heart or patience to do that. But I hope you guys enjoy it anyway._

_I was supposed to get this BETA-ed before posting, but my e-mail crashed and I was out of touch with Tamanna who is always such a great help, and Pam who said she'd BETA this story for me and I have no idea if I got my replies. I'm sorry for that. I promised to get chapter three revised before posting._

_**- I posted this yesterday night, but while trying to edit some details my computer crashed and erased the chapter from database. I'm not sure why that happened, but here I am, re-posting chapter two. Happy reading.**_

_Dedicated to Lilah. You rock the world, Roxy._

**Yesterday,**  
Love was such an easy game to play.  
Now I need a place to hide away.  
Oh, I believe in _yesterday  
_Why she had to go  
I don't know she wouldn't say  
I said something wrong now I long  
For _yesterday._

**Chapter two.**

Haley closed her eyes, listening as little feet tapped on the floor, running down the hall. The sound became louder by the second.

"Mommy!" Michael barged into his mother's room at 6AM, leaving the white double doors open, clad in his Charlie Brown pajamas, holding a Snoopy teddy in his hands. He squealed and with much effort he batted his little legs trying to climb on top of her bed.

"Mommy, wake up!" Haley groaned inwardly, still half asleep. She took the extra pillow beside her and clutched it against her head, trying to make the noise go away. Mikey who giggled at her action, stood up on top of her bed and started jumping. "Wakey, wakey!" he giggled loudly and Haley finally gave up sleeping, pulling Michael down beside her and ticking his tummy as she placed noisy kisses all over his face.

He made a disgusted noise and giggled, trying to tickle her back but he was laughing too hard.

This happened every single day, when Mikey didn't come to wake her up, it was Ella who did it. With enough luck, or without depending on her mood, it was both of them, making a jumping fest on her king-size bed. When they made single appearances the other would soon follow within a couple of minutes. And that was exactly what happened.

Ella rushed inside the giant bedroom wearing her overall Disney Princesses flannel pajamas, pulling a teddy along the way. She climbed onto the bed and crawled her way towards her mother.

"Mowning!" She greeted brightly, opening her short chubby arms expecting a hug. Haley turned her attention to her youngest and hugged her tightly.

"Good morning, Princess Ella." The girl giggled and sprawled herself on her mother's bed, taking her thumb inside her mouth.

The little family settled down on the bed, snuggled up together and Haley was once again drifting asleep when her alarm clock went off.

"Shit!" she cursed, soon slapping a hand to her mouth. Ella giggled.

"Mommy said a bad word!" she laughed happily and Haley gasped.

"You didn't hear that." She warned Michael, who was the one to repeat every new word he heard. The little boy pouted. Haley reached over, turned off her alarm clock and sighed. She kind of hated Mondays. Sure, she loved having her little ones back, but as soon as the sun reached the sky the pure bliss would turn into the torture of knowing she had to leave them and go to work.

"Miss Scott?" Amelia knocked on the open door, smiling at the sight of the young mother with her twins.

Haley had taken it to be called 'miss' again, even though the marriage was still legal it meant nothing emotionally. But she had decided to keep the last name.

"What's up with you, you called me Haley for a really long time before, now all of a sudden you decided to call me Miss Scott?" Haley looked towards her blushing housekeeper. A nice lady aged around fifty, who was like a mother to Haley ever since before she was hired to keep the house, as well as order the maids that worked for the little family around.

All of the house staff, including Amelia herself, the cook, the gardener and the pool guy were to work only on week days. During the weekends, when Haley could spend more time with the twins, or when they were with Nathan and she could spend some time by herself, she liked it to be her and the children or simply her only. No one interfering, she cooked and cleaned during those days and she liked it, she felt almost _normal._

"I was just trying the sound." Amelia grinned. "Breakfast's ready, and you have a meeting at the record label at eight." The young blonde sighed, forgetting all about the meeting. She was grateful she had Amelia to remind her of all the errands she had to run. The house staff would all return to the Scott household every Monday before Haley or the twins woke up and would silently start their work.

When the twins turned one year and six months, and Nathan was long gone, Haley had decided to transfer her college classes from Duke, finally living her dream of going to Stanford. She struggled a little at first, but Nathan gave her financial help concerning any and every of the children's needs, so they soon settled down in a small apartment with two rooms. Haley took classes during the morning, when the children got into daycare and worked afternoons at a local café, where her boss allowed her to take the twins as long as they were well behaved, which they were most of the time.

Not long after, during one fateful night Brooke Davis and Peyton Sawyer decided to surprise their longtime friend in California and paid a visit. The two girls managed to drag Haley for a much needed girls' night out. Haley then left the children with the trusty old lady that lived next door, Amelia. The one who helped Haley out when she had to juggle bottles, diapers and a paper due the day _before_.

That night was the same night Brooke and Peyton planned to go to a karaoke bar, having Haley furious about it. But it only took two martinis to have the short blonde girl up on stage, singing with perfect voice. After the first two songs Haley's shyness seemed to vanish, and she stood up on that same stage for more than fifteen songs, having the whole crowd applauding and shouting for an anchor.

At the end of the night the giggly best friends were heading out of the bar when a guy called out and asked Haley's name. That guy was Jonathan, a music producer that was blown away by Haley's talent. He had said she was a little bit raw, but with rehearse and vocal warming she could really be something; he smiled at her and gave her his card.

It took all of three weeks for Haley to call him, but she was glad she did. Not long after they decided to meet, Jon, as she now called him, was already planning an album, and that was even before she told him she wrote her own lyrics, and showed them to him. That was when it all began. Fame, money and a happiness that just wasn't at all a 100 complete.

When she first realized she had enough money, she bough a big house that had enough room for all of her family, including her siblings' wives, husbands and children. She was to slowly decorate it, family style, she wanted that house to scream her name and her family's as soon as you stepped inside the gates, and with time that was exactly what happened. With that, she dragged along the adorable old lady who had helped her with the twins, and made her the housekeeper, and in charge of the staff members.

Now, two and a half years later, Haley had been nominated to innumerous Grammy categories and had won a couple of them. She was truly happy and in touch with her music. It seemed that what she lacked in love life she had in music.

"Thank you." Haley finally managed to smile back at Amelia as Ella and Michael jumped up.

"What do we have for bweakfusast?" Haley laughed at her son's lack of coordination to speak.

"Breakfast, baby." She told him slowly, in hope he would try to repeat the word and finally say it correctly.

"Yeah, that." He nodded at his mother and gazed Amelia intently as his twin sister was long out of bed jumping her way towards the housekeeper hugging her tightly.

"Mowning Mia!" The twins had taken to calling her that since they were little, not being able to say Amelia they only managed to speak Ameea, soon settling for Mia, and Mia only. Even Haley got into that habit.

"Morning, Ellie." She hugged the little girl back with a wide smile and looked back at Mikey who was tangled, head to toe, on his mother's white bedspread. "We're having pancakes, Mickey Mouse."

"Bloobewies?" His eyes lit up in hope.

"Blueberries too."

"Yaaaaay!" the boy threw his arms in the air and got off the bed running towards the large double doors of the bedroom, only to run back. He had forgotten Snoopy next to the pillow. He clutched the comforter teddy in his hands and skipped happily with Ella downstairs to the kitchens.

Haley laughed at her children and stretched her arms and back, getting up from her bed and heading towards her large walk-through closet to pick an outfit for the day. She settled for a deep green halter-like sundress, designed specially for her, by her best friend, Brooke Davis. It was no surprise Haley had soon become the official face of Hoes over Bros clothing line.

When both of them started becoming successful, Brooke decided to hit LA and open a store at the most expensive side of the town. She had also become Haley's exclusive fashion designer, which owed her more than half of her clients. All wanting to wear the same things the famous Haley James-Scott wore. And Brooke was more than grateful.

It wasn't long after that that Peyton Sawyer also made of LA her second home, when Haley wasn't satisfied with the artwork for her second album's cover and pleaded Peyton to fly all the way from New York to design a new one, she ended up staying longer than planned helping Haley select songs and even giving her opinion about the other's lyrics and harmonies. And she was, not long enough, helping Haley's manager, finding her gigs and planning special events.

After some time trying to feed a long distance friendship the three girls were once again inseparable. And they loved being that way again.

Haley walked to her bathroom where, figuring out she was already late, she took a quick shower, pulling her hair up in a messy bun. Once out she fiddled with the zipper and was soon getting inside her beautiful dress. And then she went into the whole girly routine of hair and make-up.

When she was finally ready she made her way to the dinning room where the twins were already eating, assisted by their nannies.

"Good morning, Miss Scott." All of the staff in the room stopped what they were doing and bid her good morning.

"Good morning, everyone." She smiled warmly at them and nodded, signalizing they could go back to their designed chores. "My baby, look at you, dressing chocolate are we?" she laughed as Ella had chocolate syrup all over her chin. Brittany, her nanny made a move to clean it off.

"That's okay." Haley herself took hold of Ella's napkin and cleaned the little one's face, tickling her neck than kissing her chubby cheek. Brittany and Cecilia, Michael's nanny, smiled at how loving their boss was towards her children.

Haley sat down in her usual spot at the head of the table and fussed with the newspaper that was set ahead of her. Taking a sip of the hot coffee that was waiting for her every morning, then taking a small bite of a bagel.

"Mommy, can we go with you todayy?" Ella refused the next forkful of pancakes Brittany offered and looked at her mother with pleading eyes.

"I have a boring meeting today, ladybug. It's not going to be fun like at the studio."

"Oh." The young blonde girl set the fork down, still looking at her mom.

"But when I get to go to the studio I'll take both of you, deal?"

"Deal!" Michael exclaimed, mouth full of blueberries as he smiled admiringly at his mother.

"God, I hate leaving you two." Haley hugged her twins tightly, never wanting to let go. She kissed both of their cheeks lovingly. "Be good to Brit and Ceci, okay?" she told them and glanced up at their respective nannies.

"Please keep Ella away from my novels, actually, keep her away from any shelves of the library that are taller than 3 feet." She warned Brittany in a whisper, but Ella overheard.

"But I likes them, mommy!"

"But mommy thinks you're too young to even read, let alone read those novels."

"Mommy's speaking on third person **again**." Ella giggled, covering her mouth with her fingers.

"Let's try coloring, shall we?" Haley rolled her eyes at her child's bright behavior, feeling that her own was childish.

"Yay! Coloring!" Mikey let them know he was happy about the day's choice.

"I'll be back by three, please, no sugar to Michael after two." Cecilia nodded at her boss and offered her hand to Mikey, who gladly accepted it and ran, dragging her towards the play room so they could start coloring.

"Bye, mamma." Ella flashed her mother a toothy grin and also led her nanny to the play room as her mother left the main double doors of the mansion.

_That's it for chapter two everyone. Feedback is highly appreciated and quickens the writing process. /o/_


	3. Seemed so Far Away

_First off, I really, really do want to apologize for neglecting my fanfiction. I've been, and still am, really busy, but I've found that writing this can actually relieve me some tension, so I decided to continue it right away. I re-wrote the timeline for this story, so I have lots of things planned, and I hope you'll all like it. _

_If I take a while to update it is only because I lack time to type it up, but you'll get to see the end of this sooner or later. I'm hoping sooner._

_As for Dancing on the Roof, it still is on hold. I decided to give all of myself in this one fanfiction, and then I'll see what I'll do about the other one. I have it all planned as well, I just don't have the heart and mind to put it on paper yet._

_As this new chapter in mostly a fluffy filler, you'll get to see some Naley and a few surprises in the upcoming next two chapters, ones I'm hoping to post by next week.__ I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it. _

_Also, I wanted to ask, are you okay with the size of the chapters, or would you rather them longer. I, myself, like them long, but I'll try and fit to what's best for the readers, so leave a word._

_--- ----- --- -- ---_

**Chapter Three.**

"I don't care. I'm not touring!" Haley exclaimed, sitting back on her comfy chair at the record label's meeting room.

"Haley, you have to promote the new album." Jon sighed, getting up from his own chair.

"We aren't even finished with the recordings yet. Plus, I refuse to leave my children, I won't."

"Take them with you, you've done that before."

"Yeah, well, that was when they were little and I could carry them around on each hip. Now they're old enough to know what's going on, and I don't want them with their nannies 24/7, they don't get to see much of me as it is, imagine while touring. No way."

"They don't have to be around nannies 24/7. You could leave them with their father."

"Hah. No!" she snorted. "Did you not hear one word of what I just said?"

"Well, then what do you suggest?" Jon sighed again. Haley was one of those clients that would hardly ever change their minds, and though he found that good, and quite amusing, in the beginning of her career, it was starting to set him off ever so slightly.

Haley opened her mouth, an answer ready to roll out of her tongue, when the office's door opened with a loud thud.

"Haley, come on. You know you love to tour." She turned her head to the side as a tall lanky man walked in, his bright blue eyes glistening playfully, hair pointing to every possible and imaginable direction, and a cocky grin sprawled over his face. Just what she needed. A Chris Keller lecture.

"Damn right, I do. But… I just can't leave them behind, I won't. I'd rather do something else to promote this album. Like… radio!" She suggested brightly, getting up from her chair to hug her fried. She brought herself up to the tip of her toes, still barely reaching his cheek to give him a kiss.

"But what about me?" the tall figure pouted one he was released from the hug. He sat down at a lounge chair, stretching his long legs ahead of him and resting them on top of the meeting table. "We were supposed to have a joint tour again, remember? You promised. And I totally don't mind having the brat and the Haley dwarf around." Chris' grin turned into a scowl as Haley's tiny palms came into harsh contact with his arms, throwing him off balance and almost out of his chair.

"My babies aren't brats or dwarfs, Keller!" Haley snapped, ready for a round of profanities.

Jon cleared his throat to get the attention of both his clients.

"We'll keep the radio in mind, but please, Haley, think about the tour. Your new album is great; we have to show it off. Chris' new record is also coming out just in time for a double tour, so it might not be a bad idea after all. Just… just think about it, Haley."

"Fine," She lifted her hands in pure defeat. "I'll think about it." But before Chris and Jon's faces could light up, the tiny blonde pointed her index finger at them. "But I'm not promising a thing." Haley sent Jon one shark look and sighed heavily at the decision in front of her. She really did love touring. She adored being on stage and being in contact with all her fans. But most of all, she loved it when thousands of people's voices were synced in one, singing along to one of her songs.

But her babies, god, her twins were her whole world and life, and she couldn't stand the thought of being away from them for more than 12 hours, let alone around 1344 hours… or eight weeks. She seriously needed to do some thinking.

Haley got up from her chair, gathering her stuff and packing them back inside her bag.

"So, whatcha doing tonight? I was hoping to catch up… and maybe pick Elvis up. Is he being too much trouble?" Chris gave Haley an one armed hug. He looked seriously weird, red as a lobsters, having just gotten back from a 'business' trip to Miami.

"Elvis' is great, and the kids love him. I was actually hoping to keep him until the end of this weekend? So they can say a proper goodbye."

"Sure, not a problem. So… about tonight?" He looked down at her hopefully.

"Sorry," She bit her bottom lip and her gaze met his. "Can't. I'm taking the 'brat' and the 'Haley dwarf' to the Lakers' game tonight." She answered, her voice playfully dripping with disdain as she pronounced his oh so not affectionate nicknames for her four year-olds.

"See? You agree with me." He smirked and messed her hair, just like you would do to a kid.

"Shut up, Chris." She laughed at his offended expression and looped her arm with his and guided them down the large halls towards the elevator.

"So, taking the kids to see their dad?" Chris pressed the green button to call the elevator to their floor.

"Yeah," Haley smiled dreamily. "They are sooo excited about finally going to a game again. Michael couldn't sleep for two nights straight, he's so anxious." It wasn't very often when the Lakers had a home game and Haley's busy schedule actually allowed her to take the children to see their father play, so they generally set for the television in the TV room.

"I bet he not only couldn't sleep, but he also wet his bed when he was finally able to." He teased her before bursting out in laughter. Haley's shocked expression was met with a blush, creeping from the top of her blouse all the way towards her cheeks, giving Chris a sign that his assumption was probably correct.

"God, can't you keep your mouth shut?" She laughed, bumping her hips to his. "Besides, it's perfectly normal for a four year old to yet his bed. I'm sure you know that." In response to her own teasing, he tickled her sides and pushed her into the now open elevator door. Once inside he pushed the underground parking lot's button.

"Seriously, though, Haley." He started once they reached their cars which were only two spots apart. She looked up from her purse, where she'd been fishing her car keys, meeting his gaze with a questioning look. "At least think about it. I'm sure Jon can work out a lazy schedule so you can catch a plane and see the brats whenever." His voice was completely honest, and even though he had called the twins 'brats' again, Haley smiled gently in return.

"I promise I'll think about it." Haley answered truthfully.

"With tons of love." He added hopefully.

"With tons of love." She replied with a playful grin. Chris nodded and unlocked the door to his car. Haley did the same right after, once she finally caught her keys.

She sat on the driver's seat of her silver BMW and places both hands on the steering wheel, soon followed by her head, banging not so slightly on the blackish material. "Ouch!" she cried quietly before adjusting herself on the seat, fastening her seat belt and driving through the large avenues of Los Angeles towards her house.

Not even a week before she had had a meeting with Jon and he had promised not to push her, and now… not even 5 days later his plans seemed to have made a 180 spin. There was way too much going on.

The Lakers had won their latest game and were to play the finals against the Spurs tonight. Nathan had called her with the news, even though she religiously watched every game with the kids, and already knew the verdict, and made her promise to take the children to see the game. Right now she regretted that decision, needing all the time she could get to think about the upcoming tour.

She sighed, going through the gates of her house and parking her car under her favourite tree. Haley skipped the steps to the front door, that she found already unlocked and awaiting for her, once inside she closed the door behind her and left her car keys and purse on the coffee table of the main sitting room.

She had already crossed the lounge and reached the bottom of the stairs when she heard the housekeeper call her.

"Good afternoon, Amelia." Haley greeted tiredly and the chubby old lady smiled sympathetically.

"The twins are in the playroom," Mia explained. "But their afternoon snack is almost ready in the sun room. Ronald is already making sure your tea is ready by that time as well." Her voice was low and genuinely sweet, her young boss smiled gratefully and headed towards the attic which was now the children's playroom.

Haley opened the while double doors to the attic softly, revealing a bright room with huge glass windows and white walls, covered with circles of every colour and size imaginable painted around the spacious room. There were shelves and round tables in bright shades of reds, yellows, greens and blues. The rug right in the center of the room was a ball, also of those four colours.

The twins and their nannies were sitting on the larger yellow round table, right in the middle of the rug. Upon hearing the door clicking softly, Michael's baby blue eyes greeted his mother with a happy shine. He got up from his seat clumsily, knocking his chair down in the process. He bounced until he reached her and wrapped this short chubby arms around her slender legs.

"Mo-om-my! Come see what I made!" he took her hand in his and pulled her to the table not very gently and Haley giggled at his excitement.

Brittany got up from her wooden chair, painted in a bright red colour, and motioned for Haley to sit on it as she pulled Micheal's discarded chair up for him to sit again.

"Momma!" Ella giggled as Haley plopped a kiss on her forehead and bit her cheek gently and playfully.

Micheal's patience soon vanished as he tugged on Haley's arm mercilessly, wanting her attention back on him.

He proudly took the cardboard piece that held his work up and nearly shoved it against Haley's nose.

The young mother laughed and pushed the cardboard back down a little, analyzing what was on top of it. Six figures of Play Dough in very weird positions. Haley laughed again and arched an eyebrow at her young son.

Michael furred his eyebrows together, angry that his mom didn't understand it in the first place. So he took a deep breath, blowing the air against his baby boy bangs and started to explain. "It's you in gween, daddy in bloo, me and Elwis awe yellow, cause I love yellow and he is yellow, and Ellie is puwple! Its us mommy!"

"That's beautiful, Mikey." She replied sincerely, loving the hard work her son had put into making those dolls. "But what's that?" she pointed at the last of the figures, far away from the other five ones, it was red and smashed on the cardboard.

"Oh, that's Adam." He shrugged as if the almost dead figure of his mother's boyfriend was nothing to worry about. Haley chuckled and gulped down.

--- ---- --- -- ---

_Next chapter, Haley takes the kids to see their father playing basketball._

_Remember: a review is a writer's best friend, and they need that friend to be happy and write more ;D_

_LaLa xxx_


	4. They're Here to Stay

_Thank you, for those who took their time to leave me a couple of words. I really appreciate it. I'm sorry for taking so long to update. Things have been quite busy around school, and up until about December 13th I'll be running around like a headless chicken. So if I'm lacking updates that's why. Plus, I was so certain about the story line for this fanfiction, but then the light bulb went on again, and I had to re-plan loads of things, and see if they were going to fit. And since it's something quite dramatic towards the middle/ending, I had to ask for opinions and it was taking long to decide whether I should do it or not. I decided to follow the new plan, and I hope you'll like it, because I'm really excited about it._

_Also, this wasn't exactly proof read, I just wanted to post it ASAP and didn't have the heart or mind to read it through, but hopefully it is okay._

_LaLa._

--- ---- ---- ---

**Yesterday.**

**Chapter four.**

"Okay, finish your milk and then directly to the bathtub, both of you." Haley warned, sipping on the cinnamon and apple tea.

"But mommy! I don't want a bath." Michael pouted, both his hands clutching tightly on his half empty glass of milk.

"Yeah, well, I don't like basketball games either, but I'm going to one. So you either take your bath, or you stay home and go to bed early." She replied without looking up from the book she was currently reading.

Michael pouted, but finally agreed to take his shower as long as his mommy helped him, which she always did.

"Miss Scott." Josiah greeted his boss, getting inside the sun room from one of the large glass door. His hat in his hands as a sign of respect, and upside down, he slowly stepped closer.

"Good afternoon, Josiah. How are the gardens today?" She asked, smiling at the gardener. Josiah was about 72 years old, he was sweet and caring and really gently. He had little hair left, but let her beard grow a little long; both beard and hair were as white as snow, and his was a deep red, from staying out in the sun for way too long.

"The gardens are great, Miss. Blossoming beautifully." He smiled in appreciation to her concern towards the beautiful gardens he planted and grew in her front and backyards. "Mr. Scott left a package for you, just now." He informed, placing a brown paper bag on top of the tea table.

"Nathan?"

"No, Miss. Mr. Lucas Scott. He was on a hurry but said he'll be here at around 7:30."

"Oh, Thank you, Josiah." Haley pulled the bag closer to her, but her thoughts were interrupted by the lovely gardener.

"I also have something from the gardens for you."

"Us too?" Michael squealed excitedly.

"You too, Mr. Mikey." As Michael kicked his little legs in the air, the old man produced a simple, yet perfect white rose, it had the exact amount of three thorns. He held it carefully and lifted it towards his young boss. "It was the first one to blossom from the new bushes by the fountain." He explained and Haley took the fresh flower in her hands and smelled it's naturally delicious scent.

"A white rose! Mommy's forite." Michael clapped his hands before asking what was in it for him. Josiah took two bright green leaves from his hat in turns, handing one to each children.

Ella's eyes widened as she was the tiny red bug on her leaf. "A ladybug!" she squealed happily as the little bug flew from the leaf and landed on her tiny palms, crawling its way to her wrist.

"What's dat?" Michael made a face as he poked his black bug, it was larger than Ella's and had a bright white spot on its bottom. Ella looked over her brother's shoulder carefully and said. "It's a beetle, Mikey."

"Like mommy's forite band?" he looked up excitedly, and Haley, not wanting to crush her little one's happiness, replied a mischievous "Maybe". The boy now happily played with his bug.

Haley opened the large package, biting her bottom lip, she smiled as she took the first object from its confines. A leather bound book.

"Is dat Uncle Luke's new book?" Ella looked from her ladybug, curiously.

"Yep." Haley turned the book over back and forth, before opening it and reading the dedication carefully.

"Can I wead it?" she looked at her mom with her big brown eyes.

"Nope." Haley replied without even looking at Ella's now pouting face. "Oh, look!" She 'aw'ed loudly pulling two tiny matching Lakers' jersey's from the bag, they had their names on the back, M. Scott and E. Scott, written on top of their matching number: 1/23. She handed the twins their respective jerseys.

Haley looked back into the bag and sighed, fingering the last object. A larger jersey. H. Scott. She sighed and wondered if she'd ever wear that.

---- ---- ----- -----

"Mamma! I lost my ladybug!" Ella pushed through the double doors to her mother's suit. She was wearing dark blue jeans and a light green shirt, little green ballet flats, and matching ribbons on her hair.

Haley was currently buttoning her short sleeved shirt. She turned around in her own black flats and looked adoringly at her child.

"Oh, baby. You can't keep it forever you know? Ladybugs like to fly around the gardens, and they have to eat-"

"But I gave her food!" Ella interrupted, she had given food to the bug, and still, it left, and she simply didn't understand why.

"Really?" Haley asked, surprised as her little double nodded. "What did you give her?"

"Ewlvis' food." The tiny girl replied with a shrug, she thought it was the most obvious thing in the world… to feed a pet with pet's food.

"Mommy, help!" Michael walked in, his arms up and his jersey stuck on his face. He was actually trying to put his head through the armhole. He walked in, blindly, colliding with his sister before finally finding his mom.

Haley laughed and pulled his jersey off before putting it the right way, upon his yellow Charlie Brown's tee shirt.

"When are us going tuh go?" He asked impatiently, while climbing on Haley's bed and proceeding to bounce up and down.

"Not for another half hour. Go get your jersey, Ella. Mike get your shoes and come back here so we can put them on and actually be ready, for once, when Uncle Luke comes to pick us up."

"Uncle Luke's coming?" the kids asked excitedly, and upon getting their positive answer they ran to their room to retrieve the asked items.

Haley sighed, re-touching her simple make up. She remembered the very first game she had gone to after they had gotten married. Happy times, and god, he really did look good in the Raven's black, white and blue uniform.

Happy times.

Oh, how she wanted to be so carefree again. Carefree and in love. She remembered never being so happy in her entire life. And how she craved that again. To feel that warmth and that bubble growing inside her, ready to just explode at any given time. She needed to love again.

Sure, she loved her twins, and they were her pride, joy and life, but they just couldn't fill that void that seemed to suck her in. As much as she tried to convince herself that her love for him had vanished, she knew it was still there… just a little hardened and cold.

But Haley couldn't ignore the fact that her heart seemed to flutter whenever she saw his face, his smile… and it was growing back to the point that she couldn't even think about him without fighting to keep her mind focusing on… not loving him again.

And no matter how much she wanted to be in love with Adam, she was beginning to think she simply wasn't. At first she thought she'd grow to love him like she did Nathan, but no matter how strong her feelings towards Adam were, they were nothing close to what she had once felt for Nathan. And she wanted to feel all that again, and just as strong.

And she tried, she really did try. And she didn't understand why she couldn't fall head over heels for Adam. He was a nice, handsome guy, tall, not as tall as Nathan, she noted, but he wasn't very far behind. He had emerald green eyes, a couple of freckles decorated his upper cheeks and nose, a drop dead gorgeous smile and a thick mass of flaming red hair on top of his head.

Being a famous and important architect, he actually had to travel a lot for conferences and abroad for researches on styles, but when he came back to LA he was actually really protective of Haley and he she actually seemed to like the kids, in his own strict way, even though the twins seemed to hate him for taking their daddy's place.

But the thing was, being an architect he was obsessed with order. Everything had to be in their right places, millimeters wise. And though he never lifted one single finger towards the kids, his harsh words seemed to hurt the little ones.

He was usually calm around grown ups… he just didn't get along with children that well. He learnt, though, to never raise his voice to the twins, when Haley wasn't around, that is. It would result on an argument, and her wish to love him was going farther and farther out of her reach.

And maybe, it wasn't such a bad thing. She needed someone to have patience with her children, with Michael being the most stubborn and clumsy kid in the whole state, and Ella being wise enough to flame back and correct whoever whenever they were wrong, and well, she was feisty for a four year old and had a large amount of stubbornness in her too.

She was starting to think it was hard for him to love someone else's child.

She caught herself thinking about Nathan again, and how she thought he was different in that aspect. And, sure, Adam could be sweet, but he was also cold and didn't quite believe in hugs or any display of affection, things not only Michael and Ella needed, but Haley as well.

All they needed was love.

Little ones crave love, and Haley… well she was also a little one inside. And she craved love more than anything.

The small blonde mother actually still had a couple of pictures of Nathan and her around her bedroom. Three, to be exact. One from their first wedding, one of their vows renewals, and one at the hospital, the day the twins were born.

The other ones were simply too hard to look at, so she kept them in albums and far, far away from her grasp. She wanted to ignore the fact that it was all actually screwed up.

She paid special attention to the picture of their second wedding party. While she was looking at their joined hands on her stomach, eyes glistering as she admired her new white gold wedding band, Nathan seemed content to simply look down at her face, intently, with so much love and such passion that seemed to rip right through the picture paper to hit her square in the chest.

How the hell had this happened?

Her thoughts were interrupted by her clumsy son, tripping on the untied laces of his sneakers. Yep, he could be face and personality of Nathan Scott, but his clumsiness was, without a doubt, inherited from Haley.

She sat on the edge of her king sized bed and helped Michael up. She put both his little feet on her lap and tied the laces, telling him a story and showing him how to do it, before running a hand thought his jet black hair and kissing his chubby cheek.

Once she had helped Ella into her jersey and re-did the pig tails in her hair, they were up and ready to go.

They said their goodbyes to Mia, Ron, the cook, Brit and Ceci, wishing them a nice weekend, before pilling up on Lucas' SUV.

The car ride was filled with chatter and laughter as Lucas caught up with his best friend and god children.

Once they arrived at the gymnasium, they were escorted to secluded VIP area. Michael and Ella were pretty excited to see so many people cheering, many of them with a banner or sign with the number 23 on it, which they recognized as their father's jersey number. They smiles grew wider.

Both teams were on the court for warm ups, shooting hoops and concentrating. Once the twins spotted their daddy, they gave each other a mischievous grin and a knowing look. Michael nodded to his little sister and together they put their plan in action.

After sitting down in their designed seat, they slowly lowered themselves to the ground and crawled their way out of the VIP area, they crawled between the legs of the security guard and ran across the courts towards Nathan, who had just scored a perfect 3 pointer, and sandwiched him in a big bear hug.

"Heey, Princess." He greeted, picking both kids up at the same time. "Hi buddy." While cameras flashed on them, Ella hid her face in her hands, and Nathan looked down to a breathlessly flushed Haley. She looked pretty, even with that angry scowl on her face.

"Don't_ever_ do that again, both of you! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" She had both her hands securely on her hips, gripping tightly, and once Nathan had returned the children to the floor, Haley grabbed old of her kids' hands.

"Sowwy, Mamma."

Haley sighed in frustration, but thanking Heavens they were alright. "See what you do to them?" She laughed nervously, knowing she had a long way until she was calm again.

Getting up on the tip of her tows, she proceeded to give him a peck on the cheek. Well, that was what is was going to be, if something hadn't caught his attention and hadn't made him tilt her head, making the kiss land fair and square where he needed it the most. His lips.

The tiny blonde woman blushed furiously as more cameras flashed. Nathan smirked. Ella giggled and clapped happily, while Mike was utterly disgusted by the action.

"Sorry… I… you. You moved!" She accused him, her blush now reaching the tip of her ears, which were in clear view since she had tucked a few strands of hair behind them. His smirk only grew wider.

"Come on, Hales. I know you still can't resist me."

"Oh, sush!" She let go of Ella's little hand so she could hit his arm. Something she did, faking anger.

"Come on, we're supposed to watch the game from up there and then we can talk to daddy, now he has to work." She told the twins, grasping her daughter's hand again, leading them away.

"Make me a basket, Daddy!" Ella requested loudly, looking back at her father behind her shoulder, while her Haley was gently tugging her away.

"Me too! For me too!" Michael bounced.

"I'll make a special basket for both of you." He grinned widely and the four year olds 'yay'ed.

"You'd better." Haley stuck her tongue at him, and waved her and Mikey's hands.

The game went through rather toughly, even though the Lakers were winning from minute 15, the Spurs kept scoring repeatedly and the point difference bounced from 3 to 26, as in the finishing score, the Lakers were 26 points up.

As promised, Nathan made a special basket. A perfect three pointer for the win, from the other half of the court.

He thought it was perfect. Three points… One promised for Ella, once for Michael and he couldn't help but smile as the thought of 'one point for Haley' crossed his mind.

Now, two hours after he had last seen his family, he really wanted to again, and he just wanted to be closer to Haley, to see her interact with their off springs, to watch her smile carefully, hear her melodic laugh, and simply feel her presence.

Now, after he had showered and dressed again in his suit, he headed back to the court, where most of the fans had scattered and replaced by reporters and photographers.

He kind of hated press conferences. And today he hated it more for two reasons.

One being: he really just wanted to be with his family, doing whatever it was.

And two: they would probably ask personal questions about him and Haley.

The press seemed to have spread a lie, that everyone seemed to, and liked to, believe. People actually thought Nathan and Haley were nothing but half brother and sister, hence him being seen with her children every now and then.

And that was mainly because when Haley's first album was being released, and hitting the high places on the charts, Lucas' book had only just reached the list of the American Best Sellers, and the press had actually asked about any relation between him and the rising star Haley Scott.

He answered half truthfully, "She's my sister." Only he didn't specify. She had always been like his little sister, since they were aged 8. And actually became his sister (even if only in law) at the age of 16. And the press and tabloids didn't get the meaning behind Lucas' statement.

Once everybody knew Nathan and Lucas Scott were half brothers, the press decided two plus two should equal… five.

And now, having kissed in public. Okay, okay, it was just an accidental peck o the lips, could it seriously be considered incest? Scratch that, they aren't even siblings, or half siblings for that matter. The tabloids would probably make it into something more, which could actually cause two things.

One: Haley actually thinking their relationship through and giving him a change.

Two: Haley getting pissed off and finally signing her set of divorce papers.

He seriously didn't know what he'd do if she actually signed those papers. Even though he was the to that had royally screwed things up, he couldn't help but wonder if she'd ever want him back in her life. Completely, not just once every 14 days.

But as everything else in their relationship… it was complicated. Simply… complicated.

Fixing his tie, or at least trying to, seeing as Haley had always been the one to fix it up for him, Nathan walked towards the improvised podium, along with his team mates, and together they answered all sorts of questions. He happily answered every single question about his game, with a tired but sincere smile playing on his lips. But when questions reached another destination: his personal life and his relation to

Haley Scott, not only he dodged the question with a simple and quite rude answer.

"I'm here to talk about my game, and not my personal life. Thank you, and I believe that's all." He could feel his 67 emotional walls build up again really quickly. His smile faded and his jaw clenched tightly. So tight he was afraid he's end up swallowing a broken tooth.

He shook his head in disapproval and walked towards the main doors to the gymnasium, stopping here and there to take a picture of sign a cap, a shirt of a jersey for a fan or another.

Once outside her saw Haley gracefully signing a teenager's notebook, while not far behind Lucas held onto the twins' hands. Michael tried to bite his mini hot dog, dingle handed, and Ella tried to break a piece of her candy floss, using the hand that was attached to her uncle's.

Haley excused herself politely from her fans and walked towards her little family.

"Great game, Hot shot!" she grinned and tugged on his dress shirt. His jacket long forgotten and hanging from his shoulder.

"Thanks." He smiled a little, his walls tumbling down more than slowly. Haley actually had the power to see through them, anyway.

"Thank you for my basket, Daddy." Ella let go of her uncle's hand and hugged her father's leg,

"You're welcome, El." He picked her up and held her tightly. With her candy floss discarded, in her brooding uncle's grip, she cupped Nathan's face in her small hands and looked right into his blue eyes.

"Are you okay, Daddy?" she asked him sweetly, in a way that made his heart tug. She really was a mini Haley. In almost every way that counted.

"I am fine, princess." He kissed her button nose and smelled her hair as she her head lay on his broad shoulder.

"Mamma. Can daddy have dinner with us tonight?" She asked in her small voice.

"Oh, honey. I didn't plan on anything." Haley replied and regretted soon after, seeing that look in his eyes. It was pure hurt and rejection.

"It's okay. I have to go anyway." Nathan set his little girl back on the floor. His walls building up again in speed of light, and he couldn't help that unwanted feeling… of rejection.

Michael frowned at the scene unfolding before him. Ella crossed her arms over her chest and stomped her little foot. Lucas simply shook his head in disapproval.

Haley's eyes softened and she walked towards Nathan. Placing a small hand on his shoulder, she made sure he turned around to face her. And when he did he was met by the most gorgeous set on brown eyes, and that wide smile he fell in love with over six eyes before.

"Come on, Super Star. We'll order some pizza."

"You don't have to do that, Hales. I understand."

"You're right. I don't have to do it." She sighed and dropped her hand from it's current place on his shoulder. But her frown was suddenly replaced by a grin. "But I want to. Come on…" Haley held out her hand for him and he smiled at her action before finally taking her small hand in his.

"Come on!" she laughed, leading him back to where Lucas was awaiting with the children.

"Do you want to join us, Uncle Luke?" Haley smiled brightly, teasing her best friend, until she realized she was still clutching Nathan's hand.

She let go as if it had burned her.


End file.
